"We called off our strike as the Bill has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee which has members from diverse fields and there should now be a fruitful discussion," IMA's K K Aggarwal said

Healthcare facilities at multiple hospitals across the country came to a standstill on Tuesday. (Source: PTI)

Hours after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar sent the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill to a standing committee, the Indian Medical Association called of the 12-hour strike on Tuesday. The committee has been asked to give its report before the Budget session.

The late development, though, could not prevent healthcare facilities at multiple hospitals across the country coming to a standstill. Thousands of doctors abstained from joining their duties on Tuesday and most outpatient departments in private hospitals were closed in support of the strike. However, emergency and other critical services remained open. In West Bengal, doctors were seen wearing black armbands as a mark of protest.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, which was tabled in Parliament on Friday, seeks to replace the MCI and also proposes allowing practitioners of alternative medicines, such as homoeopathy and ayurveda, practise allopathy after completing a “bridge course”.

“We called off our strike as the Bill has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee which has members from diverse fields and there should now be a fruitful discussion. We are thankful to all the Lok Sabha members for supporting us,” PTI quoted IMA’s K K Aggarwal as saying.